Smyrna Boys & Girls Club to host 5K on Saturday

The Smyrna/Clayton Boys & Girls Club is hosting their first Breast Cancer 5K Walk on Saturday, Aug. 25 at their location on East Commerce Street in Smyrna.

Jennifer Dailey, reporter

The Smyrna/Clayton Boys & Girls Club is hosting their first Breast Cancer 5K Walk on Saturday, Aug. 25 at their location on East Commerce Street in Smyrna.

The 5K is being done in conjunction with the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition.

Smyrna/Clayton Boys & Girls Club athletic director Edward Chavis is the man behind the 5K. He decided to have the 5K to bring breast cancer awareness to the community.

“As part of our job requirement, we have to do a health fair,” Chavis said. “I decided to not do a generic health fair but to do something different, a 5K geared towards breast cancer awareness.”

Breast cancer is a disease that hits close to home for Chavis, who knows a lot of people who have been diagnosed or even died from the disease. From teachers to mentors to his pastor’s wife, breast cancer is something Chavis is all too familiar with.

“I know it’s something a lot of people struggle with and it’s [5K] just my way to give back to the community,” Chavis said.

Since there are 5K’s to raise breast cancer awareness in Dover and Wilmington, Chavis thought Smyrna would be a good location for one as well.

So the Boys & Girls Club partnered up with the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition and they’ll hit the pavement on Saturday at 9 a.m.

The 5K will start and stop at the Boys and Girls Club, with participants walking around the neighborhoods near the community center. There will be signs telling people where to walk.

Along with DBCC, other area organizations will be present at the event to provide information on health and wellness services.

While proceeds will be split between the Boys & Girls Club and DBCC, Chavis said they don’t have a set goal for money raised: “We don’t necessarily have a goal. We’re looking for pretty much anything to help.”

Thus far, Chavis said they’ve gotten a good response about the 5K, especially with the help of the DBCC partnership. Between the two organizations, a lot of people have inquired about the 5K and have signed up.

For the future, Chavis hopes the 5K becomes a yearly event even when he no longer works for the club.

He’s hoping people will come out to support the Boys & Girls Club and learn about something they may not know a lot about.

“It’s going to be a great event,” he said. “This is right in our back yard and it’s an opportunity to find out different information.”

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